Ersatz Virtuoso
by Ink Parallax
Summary: 'Katsusaki Mo squinted out the passenger side window, glaring up at the green-and-white pride-monster known as Konoha High School. Not particularly prestigious, nor particularly expensive. "So? What do you think?" She thought it was hideous. "It looks nice."' Undergoing re-write. AU. OC-centric. Original: "Katsusaki Mo: Sister Tale"
1. The Pride Monster

Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. She looked up at the blond sitting before her, her lips flattening into a hard line. Her eyebrow twitched as the boy reached forward and pushed the plaque with her name on it out of place, but she refused to say anything. She had a feeling he was just trying to annoy her, and while it was working, she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. She knew him well enough-the organized desk, the small plant in the corner, the diploma on the wall. It would all drive him crazy. He was the type to want to turn everything upside down. Which was exactly the type of attitude that got kids like him in trouble more often than not.

Ms. Tsunade was a well endowed woman, with long blond hair, green eyes, and a bosom that was hard to miss, to say the least. She looked much younger than her actual age; circulating rumors dictated that it was from a mix of plastic surgery and voodoo magic. Whatever it was, she wasn't quick to give up her secrets, or her age. She seemed to have a perminant scowl on her face, though one should be so lucky to be the _principle _of Konoha High School, also known as KHS, home of the fox, the lamest mascot ever. People had tried to change it in the past, but Tsunade refused to budge on the matter, saying that it meant something to her, whatever that was.

"Deidara," she sighed, and the boy looked up from where he had begun to mess with a small slug figurine, brushing his bangs out of his blue eyes. "This is the third time this year. I don't know what to _do, _anymore." Tsunade tapped her fingers on her desk. He didn't look too worried, and it annoyed her. "I'm aiming for expulsion." _That should get him. _

"With all due respect, Granny Tsunade-"

"You'll call me Ms. Tsunade, Deidara. I'm not even old enough to be your grandmother," Tsunade spat, her eyebrow twitching. Deidara nodded solemnly, hardly effected by the words that normally had her students cowering.

"With all due respect, _Mrs. Tsunade._" She went to correct him, but he continued with a grin. "It was art! Pure art. I was simply expressing myself as the staff of Konoha High suggests that I do, yeah. You wouldn't want to go against the District policy, would you, hm?"

"You know very well that _this _isn't what we mean when we say we want you to express yourself," Tsunade said robotically, struggling to urge she had to pick up the paper weight that was awfully close to her fingers and throw it at the cheeky brat's head. "We want you to express yourself safely. 'Safely' does not mean putting exploding paint balls in the girls locker room." Deidara huffed, blowing his hair out of his face and crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "How did you even get into the girl's locker room, anyhow?"

Deidara grinned, beginning to lean forward as though he were going to get into an exciting story, but Tsunade closed her eyes and put a single finger up, her other hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Still smiling slightly, Deidara leaned back in his seat and shrugged his shoulders, but he looked less put off. "I'm going to have to call your mother."

"What? No!" Deidara's eyes widened and he shot up, slamming his hands on Tsunade's desk. The little slug figurine jumped. "You can't do that! She'll kill me!" If there was one thing in the world Deidara was afraid of, it was his mother. He could already picture the wrath he would have to endure. He glowered at the little sadistic smirk that grew on Tsunade's face, annoyed that she had gotten through to him.

"Sit down, Deidara," Tsunade demanded. The blue-eyed boy glared at her for a moment, and she glared back. After several long seconds Deidara looked away and crossed his arms, sitting down begrudgingly. "You will be suspended for the rest of the week. When you come back I'll be requesting a conference with you and your mother so we can figure out what we're going to do about this. I'll call her to come pick you up," Tsunade said as she picked up the phone. She shot a hard look at Deidara. "Now get out of my office."

Deidara trudged out of the office, feeling rather disgruntled. He glared down at his black uniform shoes, shoving his hands into his pressed pants pockets and blew a strand of hair out of his face. The teacher's had no control over the boy-they hadn't since the fifth grade. No one really knew what happened, and no one ever asked. At the end of the fourth grade he was shy, always sitting in the corner and watching the other kids play games on the playground from far away, and when he came back after summer break he was the wild one. The rebel. He didn't listen to what anyone told him, he went by his own rules. He became a pain in the-

"Suspended?"

Deidara looked up, surprised to find a familiar red-headed boy standing in the office. He held the strap of his book-bag lazily, his brown eyes half-lidded as though he didn't have the time nor the patience to look at anything properly. His tie was loosened, and his shirt sleeves rolled up. His pants were still pressed, however, and his shoes shiny. The blond figured that had something to do with his grandmother.

"Yeah," Deidara grinned crookedly. The red-headed boy half raised his eyebrows, before giving up and shrugging his shoulders, glancing out the window in a rather distant way. Deidara wandered over to the secretary who didn't look too impressed, by the way she glared at him. Strange; she was normally pretty cheery. She had seen him enough times to knew what came next, however, and sloppily began to write a pass.

"Idiot," he grumbled in response. Either way, as Deidara took the note the secretary wrote and sat down, the red-head followed suit and sat down on one of the cushioned chairs beside him. The cheap furniture creaked slightly as he crossed his ankle over his knee, leaning back, far more relaxed than he should be in the school's office.

"What are you doing in here, anyway, Sasori, hm?" Deidara questioned, pushing his hair out of his eyes once again. The red head brandished a strip of pink paper with writing on it that Deidara didn't bother to read.

"A career conference," Sasori scoffed, folding to paper with two fingers and pinching it closed, then making a sharp crease with his short finger-nails. "They're trying to get me to try out for tennis again. Honestly, it's a waste of my time-I already told them that I wasn't doing it this year." He swiftly made two more folds on opposite ends of the paper.

Deidara rolled his eyes leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knee's. Of course, he couldn't blame them. For the last two year's Sasori had been the rookie champion of the Kanto Region Tournaments. He was a rising star, and already colleges from around the world were begging for him to join their teams. But in his last year of high school he had decided that he no longer wanted to be a tennis player. For whatever reason, Deidara didn't know, but he figured that it was Sasori's choice and the school could at least stop bothering him about it.

When Deidara asked him why, Sasori had simply told him that he wanted to focus on his art, and that he didn't have the patience for tennis any more. If there was anything that sounded like a Sasori thing to say, that would be it.

His action on the tennis courts had gathered him a bit of fame, either way. Even before he had moved on to high school everyone knew who he was. All of the sensible girls had crushes on him, and all of the sensible boys wanted to be him. Even most of the staff looked up to him like he was some sort of god. With that kind of popularity, it got around school very quickly that Sasori had decided not to join the tennis teams again this year, and many rumors were floating around as to why that was.

Deidara knew better than to listen to them. If he knew Sasori, then there really was no reason. He had probably simply decided that tennis was boring. So he ignored the rumors. Even despite his popularity, Sasori ignored them, as well. He wasn't the type to pay attention to that sort of thing.

"For how long?" Sasori asked after a bit of silence. He folded his paper several more times, then unfolded and re-folded another way. Deidara sighed.

"The rest of the week. Mom's going to kill me, yeah," he added, almost as an after thought as he hung his head, picturing the torture that would ensue. Surely she would hang him by his toe-nails, or even worse. Take away his X-Box.

"Probably," Sasori sighed. He folded the paper one last time, before pinching both ends and pulling them apart. He had made a small bird.

Deidara looked up, glancing half-heartedly at the clock. She would be there any minute, and if he kept her waiting he was pretty sure that only meant she would scream his ears off for an extra twenty minutes. He didn't want to give her any more ammunition against him, despite the fact that he was hesitant to go anywhere near the Dragon Lady.

He stood, stretching out his arms and taking and extra second to roll up his sleeves. Sasori glanced at the clock, as well, before giving an exasperated sigh and began tapping his foot impatiently.

"I should go. Otherwise she might decide to tie me to the back of the car and drag me down the high way. Hm," Deidara sighed. He reached behind his head and pulled his pony-tail tighter before making his way to the door, waving over his shoulder lazily. "See you later, Sasori."

The red-head listened to the door shut, and tossed the pink paper bird on the table beside him. He was tempted to throw it away, but he figured that whoever was here to talk to him might want to use it as his pass to get back to class. He glanced at the clock again, his patience quickly wearing thin. Honestly, whoever it was that had asked him to come before school could at least have the decency to be there when they scheduled their appointment.

Sasori watched the seconds tick by on the clock, tapping his foot rhythmically. He dug around in his book bag, looking for something to do, but he had already completed all of his homework for the day and he didn't have a book to read. He strummed his fingers impatiently, picked at his nails, shifted positions once, twice. He felt himself steadily growing more and more impatient.

When he heard the office door open again he almost sighed in relief, looking up. Whoever it was, he didn't recognize. He found himself unable to help but glare at the wispy blond, as she wasn't who he wanted nor expected. With an annoyed huff he turned away and glared out the window, wondering exactly how long he would be stuck waiting.

* * *

Katsusaki Mo squinted out the passenger side window, glaring up at the green-and-white pride-monster known as Konoha High School. Not particularly prestigious, nor particularly expensive; she had expected this was where she would be going. After doing a little research her mother had excitedly proclaimed that she was wondering about getting her into the private high school across town called Oto, but Katsusaki knew better.

"So? What do you think?"

She thought it was hideous, terrifying, narcissistic and hypocritical. The students milled about the front entrance, sitting on the stairs and chatting. It seemed KHS couldn't decide whether or not to be strict-with their dress code being a white button-up and green tie, boys wore black slacks and shoes and girls wore green skirts and black flats-or to allow it's students a stroke of individuality. She wasn't sure whether it was from the staff simply not caring, or being over-run, but many of the kids had brightly colored hair or piercings or some rogue tattoos. The girl's hiked up their skirts to show off their thighs and the boys loosened their ties and rolled up their shirt sleeves. Everyone had at least the top button undone. Katsusaki watched as a girl wearing knee-high rainbow shocks sped past on a skate-board, her hair dyed a violent purple.

"It looks nice." Katsusaki forced a smile on her face and turned towards her mother. Takara was a beautiful woman, and the exact opposite of Katsusaki. She had long, black hair that fell down her back and over her shoulders in waves, and violet eyes that seemed to sparkle with her smile. Her teeth were pearly white, and her figure seemingly perfect. More than a few times Katsusaki had wondered if she was adopted-surely such a beautiful, fashionable woman couldn't have plain boring Katsusaki.

Pale skin, green eyes, white-blond hair and a walking-stick insect appearance made Katsusaki often wonder if she was simply a ghost, ready to be taken away by the next wind. Takara told her that she looked like her father. She would have to take her word for it.

"Why does she get to go to the cool school?" Katsusaki glanced at her younger brother in the back seat. Even he looked remarkably like their mother, with his dark skin and hair and violet eyes. They were almost spitting images of each other. Katsu wondered if that confirmed her adoption.

"Because she's sixteen and you're twelve, Hikaru," Takara answered quickly, barely glancing at her youngest.

"So?"

"When I called they said that they had all of your papers in the main office. Why they didn't simply send them in the mail along with your uniform is beyond me," Takara sighed. She grasped the steering wheel, her bracelets jangling against one another. Katsusaki made a small noise of agreement, grasping the door handle and opening it, only stopping herself at the last second before she smacked a kid who was walking past and not watching where he was going. He tossed an expletive over his shoulder without stopping, and Katsusaki winced, already hearing her brother repeating it ten thousand times just to spite their mother.

"You be careful, ok?" Takara called as Katsusaki stepped out. She turned around and quickly shouldered her backpack, glancing behind her mother as another parents honked their horn obnoxiously. Her mother glared over her shoulder, looking plainly annoyed.

"Okay," Katsusaki replied, taking a step back away from the curb slowly, not sure if her mother was done yet, but somewhat in a hurry to get into the school and get it over with.

"And have a good day," she called, smiling. The impatient parent honked again. Katsusaki looked again-it was a woman in a rather expensive looking car, and for whatever reason she looked absolutely furious. Her long bottle blond hair was pulled back in a stylish bun, and her eyes were hidden behind what looked like designer sunglasses.

"Alright, mom," Katsusaki answered quickly, feeling somewhat nervous. The woman looked about ready to tear someone's head off. Katsusaki figured she better run inside now, before her mother got her car smashed up due to some misplaced road-rage.

"Mo!"

Katsusaki sighed and stopped, turning around robotically. Takara looked at her oldest child and only daughter and smiled somewhat sympathetically. She knew it was hard on her children to be moving around so often, going to new schools and having to so often make new friends. It was hard to be alone.

"I love you, Mo," she called. Katsusaki glanced around her, wondering if she was going to be mocked for being called after like a child. She realized quickly that no one seemed to notice her-she was practically invisible here. Maybe that was for the better.

"I love you, too, mom." With that she turned around and hoped that it would be the end of it. She walked to the stairs stiffly, counting down from thirty, and once she reached zero she turned and glanced behind her. With one final screeching honk from the furious blond woman, her mother rolled up the window and drove away. _Thank goodness._

Katsusaki turned, and was promptly knocked to the ground.

She squeaked in surprise as she fell straight on to her back-side, and it took her a moment to realize that she hadn't run into something-_someone _had run into _her_. And they clearly didn't have the time to stop. She looked up, dazed, as whoever it was dashed around her. Someone with blond hair. A boy or a girl-their hair was impeccably long, but they were wearing the male uniform-she didn't know.

"Sorry!" They tossed an apology over their shoulder, leaving Katsusaki in the dust.

"Hey, Deidara! Watch where you're going!"

Katsusaki turned away just as the blond haired boy was getting into the Dragon Lady's care. She just caught several of the words-_"What in the he-"_before the car door slammed shut and she ripped away from the curb and left in what must have been record timing.

It took her a second to realize that there was a tall, muscular boy holding a long arm out to her. It took her another second for her to realize that he was offering her a hand to her feet. She stared for a moment, before looking up at the towering boy before her. Blue hair that practically stood on end, dark eyes, and more of those rogue tattoos she mentioned.

"Sorry about him," he chuckled. "He's an idiot-he doesn't know where he's going half the time." Katsusaki sat there for several more seconds, staring dumbly at his hand, and just when she thought he should be offended he began to laugh. "What are you waiting for? I don't bite." He stopped for a second, then shot her a lopsided grin. "Hard."

She took his hand and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet. She shouldn't have been surprised by his strength, but she was certainly intimidated.

"My names Kisame Hoshigaki," he said smoothly, bending down and scooping up her bag. He held it out to her, and Katsusaki found herself staring rudely again before she accepted it.

"Uhm, Katsusaki Mo Outoya. You can call me whatever variation of my name you like." She winced, wondering if it sounded too rehearsed. If it did, it had reason to. She had been introducing herself the same way for years now.

"Shrimp it is, then," Kisame grinned, flashing bright white, and maybe too-sharp teeth as he stared down at her. She was at least a foot shorter than him, if not more, and Katsusaki found herself blushing at the nick-name. "You must be new."

Katsusaki blinked up at him, then glanced down at herself as though she had a board strapped across her chest with 'Newbie' written in neon. When she found none, she looked back up at him, clearly confused.

"I am. How did you know?" She blushed slightly, unable to help it. Kisame shrugged.

"I can just tell."

"Oh."

They stood there for several seconds, and for every second that passed Katsu could feel her face growing redder and redder. Finally, she couldn't take the silence any more, and she quickly turned to make her way inside.

"I-I have to go. It was a pleasure to meet you, Kisame," she called, and she turned so quickly she almost smacked right into another unsuspecting student and she made her way up the short stair way that led to the doors. They called after her, but she was already making her way into the building, suddenly feeling much more embarrassed.

She missed Kisame's half-wave and curious stare after her before another boy called to him and his attention was pulled away.

Katsusaki sighed once she was out of Kisame's line of sight. The air conditioning was on, even though the front doors were opened, and she tugged at the sleeves of her winter uniform where she had pushed them up slightly. For a moment she stood there, in the middle of the hallway, fumbling with her shirt and trying to hold on to her book bag at the same time, struggling to hide the rising panic she could feel in her chest.

The other students moved around her, laughing with their friends, slamming lockers and chatting loudly. The hallway was filled to the brim with noise, and she felt as though she was drowning in it all. She stared down at her hands, tugging at her sleeves though she wasn't quite sure why she was still doing it, because she had pulled them down as far as she could go. She realized that she didn't know where the office was, and wondered if maybe she should have asked for Kisame's help, but would he have even helped her in the first place or would he have just called her shrimp again and laughed at her for being so incompetent maybe she could ask someone around her but what if they scoffed at her and-

Katsusaki stilled for a moment. She closed her eyes, and breathed in slowly through her nose. One, two. She was fine. Three, four. She had done this countless times before. Five, six. Being calm was the key. Seven, eight. No matter the situation. Nine, ten. Breathing is the most important thing.

She opened her eyes, her heart rate much more steady, and looked up. Step one, look around. She did-there were people in every direction, sweaty, fleshy bodies fighting for space in the narrow hallways. But beyond them she could see door ways, and beside those doorways were numbered plaques. Step two, think. She had been told that the office was near the C-wing, and as she took a closer look she noticed that the numbers followed a pattern; _C13, C14, C15._ Step three, move. She followed the flow of people, and when she finally managed to break free, she was delighted to find herself standing in front of the office.

She smiled, somewhat proud of herself. She stepped forward and pushed open the door, and was greeted with the calming, business-only manor that most school offices tended to have. She had seen enough of them to know that, in retrospect, they were all the same:

Secretary behind the desk looking either somewhat disgruntled or much too peppy, sometimes chewing bubble-gum and sometimes not. Potted plant in the corner to liven up the place. Several chairs placed in a neat line, a table beside that, and some career counseling pamphlets to top it all off. Occasionally, there would be a student sitting in the chairs for some reason or another.

Katsusaki found herself looking at one such student, and she froze. Not because of his rumpled clothing, or because of the way he sat like he owned the place, or because she was having some romance-novel moment (because she certainly was not - in fact, quite the opposite.) No, none of those things. Katsusaki found herself wanting desperately to turn around straight away and run all the way back to where she came from because she was sure she was receiving the most terrifying glare she had ever been given in her entire life.

The boy stared her down for a moment, and Katsusaki stared back with wide eyes, her heart practically leaping into her throat. She was sure he was about to shoot her - thankfully, she managed to get away with a close encounter with her very first heart-attack as he looked away, deciding to focus his glare out the window, instead.

She hesitated at the door, but before she could manage to convince herself that the best option would be to simply turn around and leaved before the boy decided he was going to take whatever bad day he was having out on her, the door fell closed behind her and clicked shut. Katsusaki flinched, but it was enough to shock her out of her daze and she forced herself to move forward.

The secretary behind the desk was the much-too-peppy type. She had short brown hair and fair skin, and her desk was covered in little pig figurines. Her name-plaque read 'Ms. Shizune.' She wasn't married, but it made sense, seeing as she looked rather young yet. She looked up at Katsusaki with a pleasantly surprised smile.

"Hello! How can I help you?" She chimed, grinning. Katsusaki offered a tentative smile back.

"Uhm, I'm new." She inched closer to the desk, as though she were afraid there was a trap door waiting if she got too close. "I have to pick up some papers-"

"Oh, yes! Hold on just one minute," Ms. Shizune chimed, hitting the 't' just a little too aggressively. She paged through a couple papers on her desk, flicking through a file, and let out a triumphant sound when she found what she was looking for. "Outoya, Katsusaki Mo. Is that correct?" She looked up, her brown eyes wide and sparkling. Katsusaki nodded affirmation, wondering how anyone could seem so peppy at such an early time in the morning. "I have everything you need right here."

Ms. Shizune was quick to hand over several papers, listing off what each one was as she went.

"This one tells you all the rules you need to know - it's sort of like a syllabus. It's simply school policy. This one is a flyer about all the clubs and activities we have going on in the school. It's quite a long list, and some of them have already started up, but if there's anything you're interested in don't be afraid to come down and talk to me - we can get you all situated. And this one is your schedule. Don't lose it! It's very important. It's a fine of seventy-five cents if we need to print you a new one." Shizune glanced around, then placed her hand flat beside her mouth and began to whisper as though she were telling a secret. "But we just say that so we don't have kids coming in here all the time asking us to print a whole bunch of them. If you lose yours, don't be afraid to come in and ask for a new one, ok?"

She winked, and Katsusaki nodded, not quite sure what to do. She glanced over at the scary red-headed boy. Certainly she didn't think that she was being quiet enough that he didn't hear her?

"Oh, and one last thing." She pulled out a little card and set it on the desk with a slight _'snap.' _"This is your id. It's really important that you don't lose this one, because it costs two dollars to replace. That's the company that print's it's fine, not ours, so we can't really help you with that." She waved her hands in front of her rather comically, and Katsusaki couldn't help but smile, even if it was only out of her need to be polite. "We don't get new students here at Konoha High School very often, so I guess we're not really used to it. Normally we would have someone to show you around-oh!"

Ms. Shizune turned and acted as though she had just seen the red-headed boy for the first time. She grinned as he looked up at her, still appearing somewhat disgruntled, but at least he wasn't directing his harsh glare at Katsusaki this time.

"I'm sure Mr. Akasuna could do it - when he's done with whatever it was-"

"No!" Katsu shouted. Ms. Shizune jumped and turned to her, surprised. Behind her the red-headed boy raised an eyebrow. Katsusaki blushed brightly, averting her eyes as she gathered her papers quickly, laughing nervously. "I-I mean, no, no, it's ok. I'm sure I can find my way on my own, thank you. I wouldn't want to burden anyone. Thanks for the help and everything! Really, it was super nice of you. Bye, now! See you again soon!"

Katsusaki slammed the door behind her. She leaned against it and let out a breathe of relief. _That was a close one. _

She waited a moment to calm her rapidly beating heart, her eyes closed. She took several deep breaths before opening them again.

And promptly found the halls completely empty.

Her eyes widened and she jerked away from the door in a sudden panic. She was late for her first class! She realized she didn't even hear the bell ring. Frantically she flipped through her papers, dropping the activity flyer in the process and didn't bother to pick it up as she came to her schedule. Her first class started at 7:40. English, with Mr. Hatake. She glanced at a clock on the far wall. It was already 7:42. A sense of dread filled her, and she decided that she would have much preferred if she had just turned around and walked straight out the doors when she had the chance. She was already going to leave a bad impression on the first day.

Quickly she made her way through the hallways, searching desperately for some kind of map as she went along. The further she walked, the less likely she felt she was going to find one. She searched frantically, but it didn't seem like there was one in sight. She frowned, having remembered seeing one...

Inside the office.

With a groan she smacked her forehead. How could she be so stupid? She could have at least checked the map before rushing out the door like some kind of scared-y cat.

"Why are you hitting yourself?"

Katsusaki jerked from her thoughts and looked up to find someone staring directly at her. She blinked once, twice, before blushing furiously.

"I-uhm. I'm sort of lost," she answered honestly, feeling her face growing hotter. The teacher - clearly he wasn't a student, though with the way he loosely wore his tie and had his shirt sleeves rolled up made it hard to believe - stared at her for several more seconds before looking to his right.

Katsusaki followed her gaze and almost fell over. There one the wall was exactly what she had been looking for. There was even a little gold star on the page, and next to it someone had written 'You Are Here,' in blue Sharpie. She opened her mouth to make some sort of a comment, or excuse or _something_, but nothing came out and Katsusaki opted instead to simply bask in her own humiliation. She glanced at a clock. There seemed to be an abundance of those in this school. She found she was six minutes late at this point. She was probably already marked tardy. There was no way her teacher was ever going to like her. She could kiss all of her good grades good-bye.

With a sigh, the man ran his hand through his springy silver-white hair. It was a shocking color, particularly because he looked so young. Katsusaki wondered if it was natural.

"I've got a little time, I guess. Where are you headed?" He asked. Katsusaki glanced at her schedule again.

"A13. English with Mr. Hatake," she answered, then looked back up at him. He gave no indication of even having heard her, simply stared at her with his dark, almost black eyes.

"I'm headed in that direction anyway," he replied casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking past her, back the way she had come. Katsusaki turned on her heel, glancing at the map on the wall. It looked like the easiest way to get there was to go the way she had been going - but this man was clearly a teacher, and who was she to deny his help when clearly she needed it? "Come on. We can't keep 'em waiting."

Katsusaki hurried after him, folding her schedule and putting it in her uniform book-bag along with her id. She followed the man down the hall in silence, and he barely seemed to notice she was there. He didn't even glance back to check if she was still with him or not.

Eventually he came to a stop outside of an open door. Katsusaki peeked inside. Clearly it was a teachers lounge.

"You're going to have to wait out here. Sorry it's so out of the way. The math teacher's make the best coffee," he chuckled, turning into the lounge. Katsusaki pressed her lips together, but she didn't say anything. Surely now that she had a teacher with her, Mr. Hatake couldn't hate her, right? A teacher was the ultimate hall-pass.

Still, she found herself glancing at the clock. Ten minuets now. Maybe it was still possible for him to hate her. Could she get kicked out of a class here for being ten minutes late?

The teacher came out beside her, holding a paper cup filled with coffee, and he pointed as he sipped. Katsusaki took his direction and followed him down the hallway, this way in another direction. He seemed intent on taking his sweet time, and the whole way he didn't make another comment. He simply kept drinking his coffee.

Katsusaki found herself feeling incredibly relieved as she noticed the room numbers now had A's in front of them, and she had to stop herself from running ahead of him into the class room she belonged. She stayed respectful, following behind him until he stopped in front of A13. The door was open, and the class inside was filled with the chatter of working students. She smiled in relief, and turned to the teacher.

"Thank you so much," she breathed. He simply shrugged in response, too busy sipping his coffee. "I don't mean to be a bother, but do you think you could come inside for a second, just to, you know..." she blushed, glancing inside the room. She couldn't see her teacher yet, but the students were beginning to notice there were people standing outside their classroom.

The teacher raised an eyebrow and glanced into the classroom behind her.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Katsusaki grinned gratefully.

"Thank you so much," she repeated, and she turned and walked into the class room, less hesitant now that she had her ultimate hall pass. She looked around for the teacher, expecting to find them at the front of the room, and when she didn't she glanced towards the back, hoping to find him at his desk. But he wasn't in there. _Did he step out for a minute? _

"Alright class, settle down." Katsusaki jumped and turned, her eyebrows coming together in confusion as the teacher that had led her down there walked over to the table that was placed at the front of the room and set his paper coffee cup down on it. "We have a new student - what was your name again?" He glanced over at her, scratching his head curiously.

She froze. For a second she stared, processing the information, her eyes wide. Then the pieces fell together and - there it was. This was Mr. Hatake. Mr. Hatake had led her to his own room, having been late for his own class. Fifteen minutes late, in fact. Because he went to get coffee from the math wing, because the math teachers made better coffee. The silver haired man was Mr. Hatake.

"I-I, uhm," Katsusaki coughed, turning to the students swiftly. "Hello, my name is Katsusaki Mo Outoya. You can call me whatever variation of my name you like." That was the easiest part, saying the lines she had rehearsed. She gave a polite little wave, and Mr. Hatake coughed.

"Yeah, that. Uh, go sit down next to..." He glanced over his class. It was rather small, and the students were relatively dispersed. "Kakuzu. Kakuzu, raise your hand - or something..." He muttered as he turned around, shuffling through several papers on his desk. Katsusaki shifted nervously, glancing over the class, wondering who 'Kakuzu' was, exactly.

Finally, near the back, a brunette with the most strikingly vibrant green eyes raised his hand half way up, looking none-too-pleased at having to be placed next to the newbie. Katsusaki blushed and made her way to the back of the room, her head ducked down, and quickly took her seat beside the boy.

"Alright, let's see," Hatake grumbled, digging through the messy piles of paper he had on his front table. After several long seconds of shuffling, he finally seemed to find what he was looking for. "We'll be reading _The_ _Yellow Wallpaper_, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I want you guys to think constructively - not like last time, when you gave me half-assed answers. You're in Honors English for a reason, and I want you to show me why you're in here." He shot his students a short glare before licking his thumb and leaving piles of papers on the front desks to be passed back. "You'll read it, and then we'll have a discussion tomorrow. Consider this your homework. You can get started in class today, but that means no talking unless you've finished ahead of time and want to discuss it with some of the people sitting around you."

Katsusaki took the packet as it was handed to her and glanced over it once, reading through it briefly.

"Ah, Kakuzu?" Mr. Hatake called. The brunette looked up, clearly looking annoyed. "Would you mind getting Katsusaki up to speed before you start reading?"

Katsusaki glanced at Kakuzu and flinched at the harsh glare she was being given for his inconvenience. His green eyes were hard not to look into, which only seemed to be to draw her into a trap. He scowled somewhat, and Katsusaki noticed a long scar along his jaw, disappearing underneath his somewhat shaggy hair.

"You'll need that book," Kakuzu bit out, jabbing his finger in the direction of the book shelves to Katsusaki's right. She turned to look, finding herself staring at a whole bunch of books, none of which seemed to be titled 'That Book.' "And these notes." He slapped his notebook down on her desk, making her jump. "You can take it home for one day. If you keep any longer than that I'm going to charge you. If there's any damage done to it, you're going to be the one buying me a new note-book and re-writing all of the notes I have in there, as well as paying the late fee. Got it?"

Katsusaki stared at him, her eyes wide, and she made sure to nod as quickly as possible, even if it was a little stiff. If anything, that only seemed to make his glare become harsher.

"_Got it?_" He repeated, practically snarling.

"G-got it!" She yelped. Only when he turned away to glare at the rest of the class did she realize that they were all staring. She felt herself blush again and was quick to hide behind her short blond hair, ducking her head.

He didn't need to do much else. The entire class swung back around, going back to their own business. Kakuzu rolled his eyes before getting to work, ignoring the way his skin itched out of pure irritation when the new girl glanced at him every so often.

Maybe if he pretended she didn't exist, she would leave him alone.

* * *

_**A/N : So after a bit of speculation, I sort of realized that this fanfic was absolute crap. Total crap. So I'm re-writing it. I'll leave the other chapters up for now, but those that have been rewritten will be marked at the bottom, so you know.**_

_**Oh, and on another note, I'm considering taking a beta reader. I've never used one before and I don't really understand how it works. I think that I send someone the version I've completed, they read it through and correct any mistakes, then send it back and I credit them, right?**_

_**REWRITTEN VERSION**_

_I own only Katsusaki Mo Outoya, Takara Outoya, Hikaru Outoya and the plot-line. All other characters and names belong to the author of the Naruto Manga series and those affiliated._


	2. Still-Life

Katsusaki found her second class with ease, thanks more to Mr. Hatake than to Katsusaki's horrible sense of direction. Before she could even utter a 'thank you' to Kakuzu he was gone, and she decided to take her time packing up her things, lest she appear as though she were chasing after him. She wasn't too keen on running into him in the hallways, anyway. Before she could leave, Hatake offered to print her a map and Katsusaki gratefully accepted.

"You'll get used to it. The school seems big at first, but after a while it'll seem small," he shrugged, taking a drink of his second cup of coffee, that of which he had disappeared for ten minutes after his arrival to class to go and get. Katsusaki thanked him before rushing off to her next period.

Her second hour was in W30 with Mr. Sarutobi, who taught History. The second she stepped inside she could smell the cigarette smoke, and despite all of the windows being open the room continued to appear dark and somewhat gloomy. The chalkboards were covered in old dust and unintelligible scribbling crammed in between the old, yellowing maps of the the world. On his desk was scattered paper work, and piles of completed and ungraded assignments, manila folders and cigarette butts. One cigarette glowed in the ashtray placed precariously on the corner of the desk, a coffee mug placed beside it that said 'World's Greatest Dad.'

Whom she assumed was Mr. Sarutobi nodded at her as she walked in-he had dark brown eyes and hair and a trimmed beard lining what looked like a strong jaw line. His eyes were somewhat droopy, and he looked wired, as though he had been up all night and drinking coffee all morning. He did not look unkind-simply tired.

"You're the new kid, huh?"

"Yeah. My name is Katsusaki Mo Outoya. You can call me whatever variation of the name you like."

He paused, picking up his cigarette and puffing once.

"Sit down, kid."

Those were the only words they exchanged.

The class she had after that was Photography, and she couldn't help but find herself looking forward to it. She had never had a Photography class before, but for her fifteenth birthday her mother had finally gotten her a beautiful camera and the most expensive thing she had ever owned individually. Ever since she got it she could hardly put it down, finding a sort of solace in practicing her ability to take photo's. She didn't really know any of the techniques in taking quality photographs, though, and that was her main reason for taking the class. She had a camera, and now she wanted to know how to use it.

She found her class, Room B5, easily. She knew an art wing when she saw one, and she had walked past it twice already. It was hidden in the back of the school, tucked away like the rest of the extra classes were, and when she walked in she couldn't help but feel the same, familiar feeling she got whenever she walked into an art room. It was comfortable and easy, her eyes taking in the free-form pieces and the expressions of individuality pasted up on the walls. She couldn't quite explain it - there was simply a sense of isolation in art rooms, but not the bad kind. It was the sort that simply meant she could be herself without worrying what others were thinking, because they were all doing the same thing.

She was one of the first students in, besides a somewhat tired looking boy with long, wispy black hair sitting in the back corner of the room. She followed suit, making her way to the back and the opposite corner and settled easily, particularly because the boy didn't even bother to look up when she entered. She busied herself with pulling out a notebook, entirely prepared to take notes and not quite sure what to expect otherwise. She gazed distractedly at the photo's on the walls, and managed to poke her finger on the loose end of the wire binding. Penance for not paying attention to what she was doing with her hands, Katsusaki supposed.

They ranged from portraits of young actresses to pictures of normal, cookie cutter houses that one might find in middle class suburbia, photographs of starry painting and paintings of women who smiled with half a heart, and people on a busy street dressed in blacks and grey's and carrying briefcases filled with confidence, worn from days of the same familiar rout taken over and over again. Some she recognized for being famous, others she wondered if they were simply interesting photographs taken by talented students. She gazed at them, studying each of them in turn as the other students filed in. Some of the people she vaguely recognized, having seen them in the hallways or in other classes.

She stiffened when she recognized a certain red-headed boy as he walked through the door. Katsusaki ducked her head, hoping that he didn't recognize her as well, and began to scribble in her notebook, pretending to write something. She noticed him only coming closer and could feel herself stiffening up as he did. She wondered - was she sitting in his seat? Or was he not just having a bad day - did he really have something against her?

Katsusaki let out a breath she barely knew she had been holding when he sat down in the middle of the back row, setting his book bag down and turning towards the black haired boy, making an idle comment to him about one thing or another. She visibly relaxed.

That is, until another boy she recognized walked in to the room, and she suddenly found herself feeling less at home in the Photography room than ever before. She winced as his sharp neon eyes grazed over her and an annoyed look crossed over his face. He looked away immediately afterward, and much to her surprise, joined the two other boys in the back of the room. He didn't say anything as he sat down in front of the black haired boy, scowling as Mr. Akasuna said something to him.

Of course! Why wouldn't the one morning class she might enjoy _not _be accompanied by the two most hostile people in the school? Or, at the very least, the most hostile towards _her_. She flinched when Akasuna turned to look at her, though she was trying hard to make it look like she wasn't paying them any attention. She couldn't hear what they were saying - the other students filing into the class were talking too loudly.

"Why don't you just go and kick her out of your seat?" The red-head asked noncommittally, his lazy eyes falling back on his companions. Kakuzu glared at him before turning away glowering down at his phone, typing away at it mechanically. It was an old flip-phone, somewhat dented and scratched. His friends had picked on him for having it for so long, but whenever they forced him into making a comment he simply said how it did it's job. He wasn't the type to use anything 'fancy.' Sasori shot him an annoyed glare when he didn't respond, instead turning to the black haired boy beside him. "Hey, Itachi."

"Hello. Where is Deidara? He wasn't in Pre-Calculus this morning," the black haired boy said monotonously. Sasori sighed, leaning back in his seat casually.

"He got himself suspended for that prank he pulled last week."

"Idiot," Kakuzu grumbled.

"That's what I said."

"The one with the paint in the girl's changing room?" Itachi asked, his voice deep but soft. He looked tired. There were long marks underneath his eyes as though he hadn't gotten enough sleep in a long time. _Overworked, probably. _Sasori looked away.

"Yeah. The least he could do is behave, but he obviously takes school for granted," Sasori sighed. He glanced at the blond sitting on the other side of the room and raised an eyebrow. "She really doesn't look like much. You could probably just go ask her to move, you know, instead of sulking like a child."

Kakuzu shot him another glare, but Sasori didn't seem particularly offended. Sasori went to say something else, but before he could their teacher walked into the room.

Well, more like jumped. It was a regular occurrence, her leaping in from the window. Most of the class was used to it.

The only person who gaped in surprise would be the new girl who sat in the back. She looked up and her eyes widened and Sasori raised an eyebrow at her ignorance. The teacher didn't hesitate in beginning class, her entrance grasping their attention as she picked up a piece of chalk and tapped it against the board at the front of the room. Katsusaki didn't really have much time to be surprised as she began to write in large, looping letters across the board.

The bell rang, but she didn't stop, continuing in what she was writing. Katsusaki watched as she wrote quickly, her handwriting sloppy, and finally when she finished she dropped the chalk and turned around, making a show of dusting off her hands and then placing them on her hips.

"Good morning, class!" She called, then waited.

"Good morning, Ms. Mitarashi," the class chorused back, and she grinned cheekily, flicking back her bangs.

"Today we'll be taking a couple of notes on your next assignment, and then we'll let stragglers finish up on the last project while those who don't dawdle get a little well-deserved free-time." With this she shot a glare at several students in the front who had been previously talking, but quickly shut up when it was clear that she was talking about them. When they stopped she smiled again in an eerily cheerful way. "Alrightie then. Let's get started. Take out your notebooks!"

Katsusaki blinked, not quite sure how to react. Before she could decide on whether to make a comment about it or go on gasping like a fish out of water, the woman looked at her and appeared somewhat surprised.

"A new student?" She turned to the table-top, picking up a clip-board and glancing over her roster. She seemed to find what she was looking for as she glanced back at Katsusaki again, her eyes narrowing in concentration. At this point the entire class seemed to realize that she was there. They shuffled in the usual way that everyone else did when there was a new student, thoughts going through their minds as they made their first judgment. Was she the shiny treasure to be fought over, or a punching bag? "Katsusaki Mo T. Outoya. That's a long name."

Katsusaki didn't know what to do other than nod, swiftly feeling herself becoming more and more embarrassed.

"Ah, well. I'm sure you'll settle in just fine," Ms. Matarashi relaxed, flapping her hand absentmindedly in Katsusaki's direction. The other students turned back around, but Katsusaki could only feel herself becoming more and more tense as a wave of hushed conversation crashed over her. She had enough experience to know that they were all talking about her.

Before they could get too loud, Ms. Matarashi turned. The only thing she had to do was send them a sharp look before they all quickly closed their mouths.

"Alright, quiet. Write this down." She turned to the board and tapped it once on her way past, moving to the window and snapping it closed, then turning back around. As she picked up a sheet of paper, she said; "I'll be putting you in groups of two." This was accompanied by a groan. "I know, I know. I'm a villain, I get it." She rolled her eyes haughtily, glaring out over the students as they wrote what was on the board. "You'll be putting together a twenty-photo gallery using everything we've learned up until this point which means, yes, you'll have to actually _work _with your partner and yes, that means talking to them. Perhaps you'll learn how to be somewhat civil."

With this Katsu glanced out of the corner of her eye at the neon eyed boy, and she blushed when she realized he had noticed and turned to glare at her. She quickly went back to staring determinedly back up at the board, and the eccentric teacher in front of it.

"You'll each be taking four pictures of living things, four pictures of inanimate things, and two pictures of your partner. Yes, you're partner is living, but they are not considered a living thing for the sake of this assignment. You can put your hand down, now. I don't need your snarky attitude. Or vise versa." Ms. Matarashi rolled her eyes and snapped the paper in her hand so it didn't lay limply. "I want your gallery to flow, I want it to _mean _something. Get creative! I don't want something boring - unless you're trying to send a message, but don't get smart with me. I know when you're putting in effort and when you're simply being annoying. Now, your partners."

Someone in front of Katsusaki coughed, trying to motion something to their friend, who looked equally hopeful. Ms. Matarashi shot them an annoyed look, but didn't say anything. "Alright, the first group is Sasori Akasuna and Kakuzu Zangei..." She began reading a list of names off of the paper she held, and only when she reached the end did she realize that she had forgotten about her new student.

"Ah, and Itachi, since I would have otherwise put you with Kakazu and Sasori, you can instead work with our new Ms. Outoya. This will give you a perfect excuse to catch her up on the notes from the past couple of months." Katsu glanced around curiously, looking for this 'Itachi.' Before she found him, Ms. Matarashi started talking again. "Now I'll give you some time to finish up our last project. Those are due _tomorrow_, so they better not be late. Yes, Sasori?"

Katsu turned to find the red head lowering his hand lazily, setting his elbow down on his desk and then setting his chin in his palm.

"When is this project due?"

"Good question," Ms. Matarashi sighed. She turned and wrote a date on the board. "Not this Thursday, but the Thursday next week. You have ten days, which I suspect should be enough time. Any other questions?" She waited, flicking a strand of short hair out of her face. "Good. Get to work. Oh, and Itachi?" She gestured towards Katsusaki, and the class erupted in casual conversation.

Katsu blinked and looked around curiously, wondering who exactly was going to- and then a very handsome boy stood and made his way over to Katsusaki, and she felt her cheeks turn a violent red. She flinched, quickly turning her eyes down to her desk and hoping desperately that he didn't notice the way her cheeks darkened.

A sense of sharp dread filled her stomach a second later, and she reminded herself not to get attached. She was constantly stuck in the limbo of recycling schools and friendships. Surely this boy would be no different. That thought was enough to stop her cheeks from heating and she managed to look up just as he came to sit in the empty desk beside her.

"Hello," he spoke, and his voice was soft and nonchalant. Katsusaki offered him a smile, and he continued to look at her with tired eyes.

Itachi was a handsome boy, and it was easy to say so, but when Katsusaki looked at him for a second time, and this time without the haze of a crush, she saw that he was burdened by something. What, she wasn't sure, but his dark eyes were heavy and he looked as though he had not slept in a long time. He had regal features, making him look as though he came from a long line of refined people, and fair, pale skin. His hair was long and black, and maybe a little thin. It fell around his face in a haphazard sort of way, as if he had far more important things to worry about than the way he looked. It suited him. Though still he wore his uniform properly, his shirt done up and his tie exactly centered, his pants pressed. He looked like an old prince, royal and settled under the weight of something too large to imagine.

"I am Itachi Uchiha," he introduced politely, but his kindness did not extend beyond this. Katsusaki almost imagined that he sounded as though he said this far too often, his eyes seeming to grow weary as he said his name. He looked expectant, somehow, though horribly so. "You are new?" It didn't sound very much like a question, more a prompt. Katsusaki smiled awkwardly, trying to shove away her nervousness.

"Yes. My name's - ah, Katsusaki Mo Outouya, but you can call me whatever variation of the name you like."

Itachi waited for a moment, watching her carefully, before a small, unsure smile tilted his lips upwards. He looked so wary, as though he were afraid of something. Katsusaki didn't understand, but she struggled to continue smiling, as though to encourage him.

He placed a notebook on her desk after several long seconds, one that she hadn't noticed he had been holding, and she looked at it before glancing at him questioningly.

"I keep all of my notes for this class in there," he said softly, his words kind and careful, though he withheld emotion. "You may borrow it for as long as you need it." Katsusaki would have been struck by his kindness, if she hadn't noticed the way that the neon eyed boy was shooting disgusted looks at her from behind Itachi's right arm, across the room. She didn't quite know why, but she felt humiliated, and she ducked her head, embarrassed.

"Thank you very much, Itachi."

She waited for him to go away, knowing now that his friends thought her a complete idiot and feeling somewhat angry and sad at the same time for it. She didn't notice the curious way that Itachi looked at her, his eyes searching before they pinched in his confusion. He looked for a moment as though he was going to ask her a question, but then he thought better of it.

"It is my pleasure, Miss Outouya." Then he stood and after a moment of pause, he went back to his friends.

_Where he belongs_, Katsusaki thought inwardly. She curled in on herself, hunching heavily over her desk, her pen gripped tightly between her white fingers. Her blond hair fell over her shoulder, hiding her from the rest of the world and the observant, flickering eyes of an artist.

* * *

_**A/U: Ok, so this chapter is about half the length of the last one. To be fair, the first chapter was about twice the length I usually write. The average for number of words per chapter is 3,333. I heard that somewhere. To be honest it was probably the internet, so I would take it with a grain of salt.**_

_**Special thanks to **_Shekame _**who beta'd this chapter for me, and did a wonderful job if I do say so. If you have the time, I would suggest also going to read her somewhat similar in a not-similar-at-all kind of way story, **_Miscalculations._**  
**_

**_Also, if you have a tumblr, you can follow this story at _** tumblr (dotcom) / blog / ersatzvirtuoso_**.**_

* * *

_**REWRITTEN VERSION**_

_I own only Katsusaki Mo Outoya, Takara Outoya, Hikaru Outoya and the plot-line. All other characters and names belong to the author of the Naruto Manga series and those affiliated._


	3. Origami

"Hey. Katsusaki, was it?"

Katsu paused as she was slipping Itachi's notebook into her regulation book bag. The bell had rung and already all of the other students had quickly made their way out of the class room. The last person shuffled out—the red-head Katsusaki had seen that morning in the office, rather lazily slouching as he went, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Ah, y-yes. Ms. Matarashi?" Katsusaki questioned, latching her book bag shut and scurrying up to the front of the room, hoping she didn't do anything wrong. The woman looked at her for a moment, her eyes hard. Then she sighed and shook her head instead, a small smile on her lips.

"Don't look so worried, ok? You'll do fine." And then she waved Katsusaki off, dismissing her. The blond blinked owlishly before nodding, saying a quick 'thank-you,' and making her way out of the class room. She wondered if Ms. Matarashi was talking about school, or her project partner. Either way, she wasn't sure she was as confidant as Ms. Matarashi was about what her future success may look like.

Her next class was Astronomy with Mr. Umino, in room S18. Katsusaki had little trouble finding the class room, now that she was starting to understand the way the different wings of the school worked. Walking down the hallways and peering into the class rooms made it very clear that the 'S' stood for Science.

Mr. Umino was a very kind brunette man with a long scar over the bridge of his nose. When he greeted her, Katsusaki felt all of the awkwardness melt away, and instead felt relieved. He introduced himself and she did the same, and he directed her to sit in what must have been an empty seat. The blond waited patiently while the other students filed in, and felt a breath of relief when whoever it was that took the seat beside hers didn't seem to be present as the bell rang.

"Alright, class-"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Katsusaki looked up, surprised as a pretty blue haired girl quickly slid into the room, looking guilty. Her hair was slightly ruffled, and the flower in her hair was askew, but her golden eyes were bright. She made quick work to try and put the flower back into place, but it didn't seem to want to behave.

"It wont happen again, Mr. Umino, I promise," she said quickly, her cheeks flushed and a sheepish smile spreading her lips as she snaked through the isles, finally plopping down into the seat beside Katsusaki. Mr. Umino shot her a disapproving look, but she didn't seem to be paying him much attention as she settled into her chair.

"You said that the last time," Mr. Umino sighed, before deciding that it wouldn't be of any use to punish her for it. He licked his thumb and started to count out several of the papers that he held in a pile in his hand. "I'll be handing out this worksheet. It's due tomorrow. Use your notes if you must. You can talk but the usual rules apply. If you get too loud I'm taking away the privilege." He set down several of the papers on the front desks, and the students handed them back.

"Are you new?" Katsusaki jumped, surprised as the blue haired girl turned to her, smiling prettily. She was working on her hair as she talked, her slender fingers pulling at the shocking blue strands as she tried to straighten them out.

"Ah - y-yes. I am." Katsusaki blushed, looking vaguely embarrassed. She felt as though she had just been caught doing something she shouldn't have been, though she didn't know what.

"I figured. I've never seen you around before. My name is Konan," she supplied, and the ashen haired boy in front of them turned and shot her a glare as he handed them their papers.

"Do you mind?" He hissed, shoving his glasses up his nose. Konan rolled her eyes at him.

"You haven't even started working yet, Kabuto. Could you relax for one second?" Konan's bantering was light, but Kobuto seemed to deem it personally offensive and snorted.

"If I don't quiet you down now, you wont shut up for the rest of the hour."

"It's not my fault you can't make friends," Konan giggled, glancing at Katsusaki out of the corner of her eye. It didn't take her more than a second to realize that the girl was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Katsusaki simply busied herself with passing the rest of the papers back. "I'm sorry - what was your name again?"

"Uh, Katsusaki Mo Outoya, but you can-"

"How very formal of you," Kabuto sneered, his glasses glinting. He gave her a smile that was less than kind. "My name is Kabuto. Now that we're properly introduced, let me give you a bit of advice." He shot a look at Konan. "Her and her friends are cruel people, _Katsusaki. _You would want to end up like the last girl they chewed up and threw away."

Konan shot him a glare, and this time it seemed a lot more threatening than what should be possible for a short girl like her.

"It's none of your business to go spreading information like that around, Kobuto, and you know it." Katsusaki was awfully surprised at how motherly she sounded. Kobuto just rolled his eyes. "Now why don't you leave us alone and do your work before you get us all in trouble."

He shot her one last nasty look before turning back around. The tall, white haired boy who was sitting next to him said something in a low voice, presumably some sort of calming words. Kabuto seemed to refuse to say anything back. Katsu watched them for a moment, nervous curiosity making her muscles tighten. Konan caught her attention again, her prying gold eyes noticing as she tensed.

"Sorry about that. Kobuto is just a prick." She didn't bother to lower her voice when she said it, and Katsusaki could see his shoulders tense. "Anyway, like I was saying. I'm Konan. And you're...?"

"Katsusaki," she supplied, her cheeks darkening. Konan smiled.

"Can I call you Saki? It's a cute nick name for you."

_Better than Shrimp, _she thought, but didn't say it out loud. She doubted she was ever going to run into the blue haired monster of a boy ever again, anyway.

"I don't mind." Katsusaki gave an awkward half smile, trying to appear somewhat friendly. "You can call me whatever."

"Good. You'll like it here, I'm sure. As long as you stay away from the weirdos."

"Isn't that a rule anywhere you go?" Katsusaki shrugged, turning to the worksheet. Most of the answer's were simple. Konan laughed, fiddling with a pencil she had pulled out of her bag.

"I guess so, but you have to especially careful here. Some of the people at this school, honestly." She shook her head as though it were a real shame. Katsusaki had a feeling she was trying to hint towards Kobuto to make him even more annoyed, but he had moved on to ignoring her completely, and was doing a rather good job of it.

They talked all hour, much to Kobuto's chagrin, and when the bell rang Konan jumped up, as energetic as ever. She tossed back her head, laughing at a joke that was her own and poorly made. She didn't seem to notice, and Katsusaki smiled despite herself.

"Hey, are you sitting with anyone yet at lunch?" Konan asked curiously, tilting her head as she picked up her uniform book bag and snapped it shut. Katsusaki gave Konan a half smile, trying not to look too relieved, but Konan must have seen it on her face anyway because she giggled. "Come and sit with me and my friends. I'll introduce you."

"Ok-"

"You sure your boyfriend wouldn't mind that?" Kobuto sneered before walking away, the tall white haired boy beside him casting a backwards glance. He watched Katsu for a single moment, his eyes connecting with hers before she looked away in embarrassment and he got the message. He followed Kobuto out, stepping around an orange haired boy that was quite a bit shorter than him on the way out.

"Don't listen to him, Saki. He's just a rude jerk," Konan sighed.

"Konan."

Immediately, the blue haired girl perked up. If Katsusaki had thought she was radiant before, it held nothing against what she was now. Everything about her seemed to glow at the sound of one person's voice, and she turned to regard him excitedly, her golden eyes glittering excitedly.

He was terrifying, if Katsusaki had anything to say about it. He wasn't particularly tall, certainly not as tall as the blue haired boy she had met that morning, but he made up for it in how hard set his features were. He was also pierced in several different places, making him look all the more rebellious and daunting.

"Nagato!" She laughed, bouncing over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his cheek, murmuring something to him that he regarded with cold eyes, before he glanced over her shoulder at Katsusaki. He seemed to realize she was a friend, though, not an enemy, because immediately his eyes were back on the blue haired girl attached to him and Katsusaki could breath a sigh of relief.

"Konan," he said back simply. She seemed to realize who he was looking at over her shoulder and she smiled, glancing back at Katsu as well.

"Come over here and meet the boyfriend," Konan laughed. Katsusaki hesitated, but after a short, encouraging look she came over. "This is Nagato. Nagato, this is Saki. She's going to eat lunch with us today because she has no one else to sit with." Nagato regarded her with a cold expression, but didn't say anything. Katsu shifted.

"Well, I've got to get to Algebra, so..." She slipped around them through the doorway, and when she glanced back she saw Konan waving.

"Oh, right. See you at lunch, Saki!"

* * *

Konan's bedroom is filled with paper cranes.

They were not the only things that were in her room. She had a bed, and a dresser and a vanity where she kept a single comb, and littered on every surface were tiny paper creatures. Turtles and dragons, sea gulls and squid, crabs and dogs, and sometime even flowers and little paper throwing stars. Some were white while others were brightly colored with polka-dotted or striped paper, in blues and reds and violets and yellows and everything in between. But the most noticeable thing about her bedroom was that it was filled with paper cranes.

They cover everything, hanging on the walls and from the ceiling, splayed out over her dresser and across the foot of her bed, rustling against the curtains when she opens her windows and drift from the door frame of her closet. Each one is folded carefully, stark white and pristine, as though they await patiently for the day when they can flutter away, attached to one another by long strings so they will never be lonely. No one would ever know simply by looking at them, but carefully hidden inside each of the cranes is the same phrase written once in neat, tidy handwriting. Determined handwriting.

When Konan was little, she was fascinated with Japanese culture, and one thing in particular caught her interest. When a little girl loved a boy very much, she would make one thousand paper cranes, and string them up in groups of ten. The crane's represented determination and hard work, things that were greatly valued in Japan, and if she could show that she was hardworking enough, then the boy would love her back.

Konan also had a crush on a little boy with orange hair. He was wild and outspoken, and strong in his own way. He had grown in hard times, a tough weed in a field of flowers, moved to Konoha to start brand new. The other children were drawn to him, and looked to him like a leader. He demanded their attention without having to raise a single finger. Konan was intrigued by his hard face and set expressions. So one day, after thinking long and hard, Konan set to work on making one thousand paper cranes.

She would sit in her room for hours at a time, folding the papers after writing inside each and every one of them one single phrase, a tiny little wish, and when she was done she would string them up and start again on the next. It took her months, her tiny fingers working dexterously. Her teachers looked on worriedly as she came to school with a multitude of bandages over her fingers, her hands aching as she tried to write her sentences, but she never complained.

Then one day, Konan told the little boy that she had a surprise for him, and she brought him home and presented him with one-thousand paper cranes. He looked at all of them, his eyes taking in their careful precision, and then he turned to the girl (who was a brunette at the time) and told her that he didn't know what he was supposed to do with so many useless paper cranes.

Had he been any less sure of himself, he may have hesitated too long and Konan may have cried, but he was very sure of himself, and he lifted her hands to his face and asked her why she had so many cuts on her fingers. She told him because she had made so many cranes-she thought it was obvious, and she was certainly very proud of the fact. The boy looked at her sadly, and Konan was confused.

"So these are also for me?" He asked. Konan frowned. She supposed they were.

The next day he brought her a crane, and when he handed it to her looked sure of himself as he always did. There was never a tear in his confidence. Konan had not seem him look unsure of himself even once. He knew what receiving one thousand cranes meant, he was a smart boy. Even if he hadn't known, he would have researched. When he had gone home and made a crane himself, he had also made a decision.

Konan carefully unfolded the crane to find a wish on the inside. A wish that was very much like her own. She smiled, and looked up at the boy, and if fairy tale's were real this was as close as it got to a happy ending. She hugged him, and giggled several words into his ear, and that night she took the crane home and carefully set it on her dresser, next to one thousand crane's just like it. Only this one was different.

_I wish to be happy with you always._

* * *

Katsusaki could feel the fear washing over her in waves, crashing down on her over and over again as she looked out over the sea of people before her, bustling and shouting out each others names, companionship leaking from their pores where she was alone, lonely, standing stock still her white knuckles wrapped around the edges of the green tray in her hands hopes crushed underneath her feet wrapped in tidy leather and she tried to think about that but the smell of food was making her stomach turn over and she was sure she was about to puke right in front of everyone on her first day and they would laugh at her and she would be mortified and she would never be able to look at them again her mother would have to home school her she would be locked away-

Katsusaki took a deep breathe, struggling to breath through her panic as it rose in her throat. She was sweating, she could feel it pooling in her palms. Her grip tightened, but still her tray felt slick. She was almost positive someone had their hands wrapped around their throat, but she couldn't feel any fingers on her skin. It was as if they were her own. Something in the back of her mind whispered that she should have known this was going to happen, she should have known that it was too good to be true.

So before she could make a fool of herself in front of everyone, Katsusaki turned on her heel and quickly pushed her way out of the cafeteria. It took far too long for the doors to click shut behind her, and for the noise to fade. And even when it did, she just kept on walking. She walked and walked until she found herself at the stair well, and trembling she set her tray down before she could drop it and make a mess, and carefully set herself beside it. Then she tucked her knee's to her chest and gently rocked back and forth until she could breath again, until her fingers stopped shaking and the bones in her fingers no longer strained her skin white.

She gently let her feet rest on the step just below her and put her head in her hands, counting her breaths and listening to her heart as it slowed down. When it finally seemed to reach some sort of steady rhythm, she uncurled her body.

But now she wasn't hungry, and so she dumped out the food on her tray in a nearby trash can. Just the sight of the food making her stomach churn. She made her way back to her seat and leaned back against the railing of the stairs, and she listened to the silence.

She wondered how she got here. Her life was so twisted and strange, not necessarily in a bad way or a sick way like some people would expect the term 'twisted' to mean. It was more as though she was simply folding in on herself constantly, everything always constantly being hidden under other things so that she didn't have to see it any more. Her mind wandered back to her old schools, to the people she had met and who she had always been torn away from. She didn't blame her mother, not really, but it was exhausting to constantly be the new kid, and sometimes she wished that her mother understood that.

She sat there for several minutes, just thinking, until she heard the sound of shuffling footsteps. Katsusaki planned on ignoring them, even as they grew louder and louder, and she realized that the person was passing her where she sat on the steps. She didn't intend to open her eyes, not caring if they thought she was strange for resting her eyes as she leaned on the steps, her elbow somewhat hurting from where it was pressed roughly on the no-slip rubber placed at the corner of the stairs. Then the foot steps stopped, and she felt herself tense, waiting for some sort of jeering insult.

"What are you doing?"

Katsusaki flinched, and opened her eyes to find the last person she wished to see standing in front of her, glaring down at her with his sharp eyes. He had crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised on his marred face

"Never mind, I don't care," he spat, pushing his brown hair out of his face, his neon green eyes blazing. Katsusaki wasn't sure whether to be shocked or insulted, and the expression on her face clearly showed it. "You're late. You should show a little bit more respect and act somewhat grateful. Pain doesn't invite just anyone to the meetings, you know." He rolled his eyes, seeming to almost be talking to himself. When he realized that Katsusaki wasn't getting up, he turned his sharp gaze back on her. "Well get up, then! Goddammit, are you useless?"

Katsusaki stared for a moment longer, and when she could see that Kakuzu was getting close to the point where he just might use physical violence, she quickly stood, looking extremely embarrassed. She straightened her skirt, but Kakuzu grabbed her wrist, and she let out a gasp as his fingers wound so tightly around it she was sure she was going to bruise.

"Honestly, don't know what Pain was thinking, inviting an idiot like you..." He muttered to himself, and gave Katsusaki a not-so-careful tug.

And that was how she found herself being dragged down the hallway of Konoha High School by the last person she thought would ever want anything to do with her.

* * *

_**A/N: AHH!**_

_**I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to post yesterday. O.O Eek. I'm being completely serious when I say my mind was completely focused on a paper that I had to finish writing that was due today at 10:00. Don't worry, it's finished now and off my mind. Next update should be up on June 6th, and I promise to be on time.**_

_**Hey, if any of you like Ouran High School Host Club, you should check out my story The Ocean. Especially if you're Mori or Kyoya fans.**_


End file.
